Barbara Carr

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The Town's newest Commissioner, Barbara Carr, assumed her office in 2009. Previously Mrs. Carr spent 29 years in public service in Chicago, Illinois. Most recently, she served 13 years as President of the Chicago Botanic Garden, a 400 acre public garden with 750,000 visitors annually and a budget of $30 million. While there, Mrs. Carr led a 10 year master plan that saw 15,000 donors contribute a total of $148 million for 30 acres of new gardens, a children's learning center, and six miles of shoreline restoration. She also led the development of the Regenstein School of the Chicago Botanic Garden with graduate programs in plant science and conservation in partnership with Northwestern University. Mrs. Carr joined the Garden from the Lincoln Park Zoological Society, where she served as president from 1975 to l994. During her tenure, Mrs. Carr increased annual revenues to more than $9 million and initiated $50 million in major construction projects. Mrs. Carr retired in 2007 and became a resident of Jupiter Island at the home that she and her husband purchased in 2004.

Mrs. Carr has received an honorary doctorate degree and numerous awards; she currently serves on the boards of Lake Forest College, Oxbow School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Garden Conservancy. She also co-chairs the advisory committees of the Everglades Foundation in Florida.